Palo Alto’s Nir Zuk: “$32B is hard to turn down, but Israel would have benefited if Wiz had gone public”
Zuk laments missed opportunity for Israel’s public market presence, while Check Point’s Gil Shwed praises the deal as a global win for Israeli cybersecurity.
It's hard to see a $32 billion exit for a five-year-old company as anything but a success. However, when thinking long-term, it was precisely when the founders of Wiz turned down Google's previous $23 billion offer that many admired Assaf Rappaport, Yinon Costica, Roy Reznik, and Ami Luttwak—not just because they had received such a staggering offer, but even more so for their immense self-confidence in rejecting it.
Nir Zuk, founder and CTO of Palo Alto Networks, the world’s largest cybersecurity company, echoed this sentiment in a conversation with Calcalist: "I understand that it’s almost impossible to say no to $32 billion, but for Israel, it would have been better if Wiz had held out a little longer and gone public in New York. It’s a shame they’re not joining that club. As a public company, Wiz would have contributed much more to the country and its economy than by becoming part of Google. This is especially concerning for employment in Israel, and I really hope Google doesn’t start shifting resources from here to India to cut costs."
"I really understand how difficult it is to turn down such an offer," Zuk added. "But personally, I truly enjoy being the founder, CTO, and a board member of a public company worth $120 billion—a company that, by the way, began its public journey with a valuation of just $2 billion. The bottom line is that it’s a shame for Israel that it is now left with just two major publicly traded cybersecurity companies—Check Point and CyberArk—without adding another. I don’t see any other cybersecurity companies on the horizon that can reach Wiz’s scale."
Zuk, incidentally, is among those benefiting from the acquisition, thanks to his investment in Gili Raanan’s Cyberstarts venture capital fund—the only Israeli fund with equity in Wiz.
Gil Shwed, founder and executive chairman of Check Point, which has a strategic partnership with Wiz that could gain momentum following the Google acquisition, took a more optimistic view of the historic deal: "This is a great transaction that highlights the strength and resilience of Israeli high-tech and cybersecurity. The fact that a global technology giant is investing so much in technologies developed here is yet another testament to Israel’s innovation. I hope and believe that Israeli high-tech and cybersecurity entrepreneurs will continue to make an impact and help make the world a safer place."
Shardul Shah, a senior partner at Index Ventures, Wiz’s largest shareholder, who has supported the company’s founders since its early stages and serves on its board, described the acquisition as "a great and historic moment for Israel": "This deal once again proves that Israeli founders can build globally leading businesses. It’s a milestone that will inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs. The records Wiz has set will help pave the way for future Israeli companies to scale. We don’t just believe in this—we put it into practice. Over the past 12 months, despite the war, we have invested in 10 new Israeli companies."
